Preventable-disease outbreakU.S. measles numbers continue to climb, nearing record
The U.S. measles total climbed by 71 cases last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday in an update, putting the year’s total at 626, within striking distance of the most cases since the United States officially eliminated the disease in 2000. With weekly measles numbers continuing to grow at a steady clip, a top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official on Monday released a statement affirming the agency’s continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The U.S. measles total climbed by 71 cases last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday in an update, putting the year’s total at 626, within striking distance of the most cases since the United States officially eliminated the disease in 2000.
With weekly measles numbers continuing to grow at a steady clip, a top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official on Monday released a statement affirming the agency’s continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Peter Marks, who directs the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the MMR vaccine has been approved in the United States for nearly 50 years, and its use has cut measles and mumps cases by 99 percent, with large, well-designed studies confirming the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness and ruling out a link to autism.
With multiple measles outbreaks and as National Infant Immunization Week approaches, “We want to underscore our continued confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines that are highly successful at preventing—in some cases, nearly eradicating—preventable diseases,” Marks said.
Cases just short of 2014 record
According to today’s CDC, the 626 total is 41 cases shy of reaching the 667 reported in 2014, currently the record for the post-elimination period.
Tennessee became the latest state to report a case, and with a recent measles illness recorded in Iowa, the number of affected states has grown by 2, to reach 22. On 18 Apr the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) announced that it had confirmed and is investigating its first measles case of 2019, which involves a resident in the eastern part of the state.
Tim Jones, Tennessee’s state epidemiologist, said in the statement that response efforts are focused on preventing the spread of the disease. “This appearance of measles is a reminder about the importance of vaccines and how they can particularly protect our most vulnerable, including infants and those with compromised immune systems.”
